cicada

Chapter 1495 The Fleet Sets Sail
"There are no Kuomintang agents, there are no Kuomintang agents."

Ryosuke Hasegawa gazed at the crew members with guns pointed at them, praying desperately with utmost sincerity.

Shirata was unaware that Hasegawa was terrified. He slowly walked up to the crew member with a smile on his face, like a cat toying with a mouse.

Seeing one of them with his head down, Bai Tian reached out and grabbed the other's collar, asking, "Tell me your name."

The crew member looked nervous and stammered, "Sato...Sato Takehito."

The Japanese soldiers next to him held the crew member's hands tightly to prevent him from suddenly attacking, and some even pressed the muzzle of their guns against the suspect's forehead.

"Sato Takehito?"

Shirata repeated the crew members' names, then looked down at the files and quickly found the relevant information, while also discovering the problem.

Because the Sato Takehito standing in front of him was not the same person as the Sato Takehito in the file, or at least the photo was different.

Moreover, Sato Shin was only 1.4 meters tall, had dark skin, and made a living by farming in the countryside before the war.

The man in front of me was at least 1.6 meters tall, with fair skin. He didn't look like a farmer at all; instead, he looked like a rich young man from the city.

Shirata did not immediately expose the other party. He looked back at the group of women and children and ordered someone to bring Sato Kenji's family.

Before long, two women walked over with small, hurried steps, their expressions very tense.

When the two approached, Shirata lifted Sato Kenji's face and asked with a smile, "Tell me, who is he?"

The two women looked Sato Kenji up and down carefully, then shook their heads blankly, indicating that they did not recognize him.

Shirata's smile widened, and he turned to feign surprise: "Oh dear, Sato-san, why don't your mother and wife recognize you?"

Upon hearing this, the two women immediately understood that their son/husband had been impersonated.

"Jianren, give my Jianren back right now."

The old woman cried out and screamed, wanting to fight the man impersonating her son, but the soldiers held her back, and she could only let out mournful howls from a few meters away.

The fake Sato Kenji was so frightened that his face turned ashen, his legs trembled slightly, and he didn't even have the courage to look the two women in the eye.

Ryosuke Hase was furious. Was this guy really one of Gian's men? He was far too cowardly. If he didn't take Shirata hostage now, when would he?

Bai Tian felt the time was right and suddenly shouted, "Speak! Who are you?!"

The fake Sato Kenji could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, cold sweat pouring from his forehead. With a mournful face, he confessed his true identity.

“I said, my name is Tony Mu, and I used Sato Kenji’s identity to avoid military service.”

"What?!" X3
Shirata, Ryosuke Hase, and the naval officers all spoke in unison.

Especially Shirata, who grabbed a crew member who called himself Tonimo and angrily spat in his face: "Confess! Are you a non-citizen and anti-Japanese element!"

Tony cried even louder. Non-citizens were going to die. Thinking of the legends about the disciplinary camps, he quickly told the truth.

It turned out that Sato Kenji was not drafted into the army because he was too short and malnourished. Hearing that the city was short of labor, he went to Osaka alone and found a job as a cleaner in a trading company.

This trading company happened to be owned by Tony's family, and that's how the two met, but this meeting wasn't a pleasant one for Sato Kenji.

Compared to Sato Kenjin, who came from a poor background, Toniki, who had never lacked nutrition since childhood, was tall and strong, and was classified as a first-class soldier, making him a first-round conscript according to the Japanese military service law.

Tony's parents were reluctant to send their only son to the battlefield, so they racked their brains and came up with a clever plan—to have their son fake his death and impersonate Sato Kenji to escape conscription.

There was no better candidate than Sato, a farmer with no connections who had been working away from home for a long time.

Just to be on the safe side, after successfully replacing Sato Kenji, Tony left Osaka to avoid being recognized.

After several years of wandering, Dongnimu worked many jobs before finally becoming a sailor at the Shimizu Trading Company, until he was discovered this time.

Bai Tian's face darkened. He had thought he had discovered a Nationalist government agent, but it turned out to be a rich young man evading military service.

He didn't bother asking where the real Sato Kenji was; even a fool could tell that Tony's parents couldn't have left such a huge loophole.

Sato Kenji's mother and wife naturally understood this as well, and they cried even louder.

"Send them to where they need to go."

Shirata waved his hand impatiently, then ignored the limp Tony and continued questioning the remaining suspicious individuals.

As expected, these people were either impersonating others to evade conscription, or they had committed crimes in Japan and could only use false identities, and had no connection with the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Enraged, Shirata roared, "Arrest them all! The Navy must give us a reasonable explanation!"

He pointed the finger at the navy and the Shimizu Trading Company, arguing that the Shimizu Trading Company had allowed unidentified individuals to infiltrate the transport convoy for such an important mission, and that the responsibility should not be borne by the Kwantung Army.

The naval officer wasn't angry when he heard this. He simply mentioned the names of a few shareholders of the Shimizu Trading Company, and Shirata backed down.

There's no way around it; no one can remain calm when faced with pressure from conglomerates, the army, the navy, the cabinet, and even the royal family.

Seeing that Shirata had quieted down, the naval officer changed the subject, saying that he would send naval sailors aboard to take over the work of the arrested personnel.

Having narrowly escaped disaster, Ryosuke Hase seized the opportunity to act as a peacemaker, and the three parties finally reached an agreement, officially commencing the handling of the goods.

Under the constant surveillance of Kwantung Army soldiers, the porters carried the looted goods from the warehouse onto the Yamato Maru.

Before the box was loaded onto the ship, Ryosuke Hasegawa opened it again to check it, and only after confirming that everything was in order did he reseal it.

A photographer documented the entire process with a hand-cranked camera; the footage will later be submitted to Tokyo for review by higher-ups. The move lasted for over ten hours, with countless priceless treasures and artifacts being moved into the warehouse, and the hatches sealed.

Subsequently, three Japanese squads boarded the cargo ship. Their mission was to guard these valuables, stained with the blood of the people of the Republic of China, 24 hours a day.

During this time, the Xuefeng destroyer appeared in the waters off the Kanto region on time. The black smoke billowing from its smokestack could be seen from a distance, and Hasegawa and others, who were downwind, were choked and coughed incessantly.

When the warship docked, Ozawa emerged from the smoke, like a villain in a movie. He slowly walked down the gangway and nodded to Hase and the other two.

Among the people present, he had the highest military rank and the oldest age, so he naturally had to act like the eldest brother, which Hasegawa and the others didn't mind.

The Navy places more emphasis on seniority than the Army. When officers meet for the first time, they only ask about the hammock number from the Etajima Naval Academy, not the rank. As for officers who did not graduate from Etajima, they are not even allowed to speak loudly.

"Gentlemen, I need to confirm whether the cargo is safe."

Ozawa took off his white gloves, raised his head, and made a request in a very arrogant manner.

The naval officer dared not say anything more and hurriedly led him to the warehouse. Hasegawa and Shirata exchanged a glance and followed.

After passing through the narrow corridor, the four arrived outside the warehouse, where a dozen Kwantung Army soldiers stood by the door with guns, their bodies taut.

Shirata reluctantly explained, "The escort team is divided into three groups, guarding the goods continuously."

To this, Ozawa only replied, "Yoshi, I hope you army dung don't get greedy, otherwise I'll teach you a lesson about loyalty with naval guns."

"Baka!"

Before Shirata could finish his curse, Hase Ryosuke tugged at his sleeve, forcing him to shut his mouth in annoyance, though his eyes were full of resentment.

Ozawa ignored the barbaric army, then bent down to carefully inspect the door seal to make sure there were no signs of it being opened, clearly showing his distrust of the Kwantung Army.

After finishing these tasks, the group returned to the dock, where Shirata asked Ozawa which route the fleet would use to return to Tokyo Port.

Ozawa glanced at him and retorted with "military secret, no comment."

Just as Shirada was about to explode, Hase whispered a reminder that, according to the Golden Lily Plan, the Navy could not reveal the transport route.

More importantly, if something goes wrong with the fleet, everyone who knows the route will be in trouble, so they don't need to create trouble for themselves.

The dock fell silent. The group didn't chat much after that and proceeded with the handover. The Xuefeng was also refueled.

It was already night. Xiaozechuan checked his watch and ordered the fleet to set sail, as darkness was safer for the transport fleet.

“Beep~~”

With a few blasts of its horn, the Xuefeng led three cargo ships out of the port and headed towards the Yellow Sea along the shipping lane.

Due to the strict blackout, the fleet quickly disappeared into the darkness, and Hasegawa decisively bid farewell to Shirata and the other man.

"Is Mr. Hasegawa already returning to Shanghai? What a pity. You could stay a day or two longer so we could show you some hospitality."

"Yes, Lord Hase."

Shirata and the naval officer tried to persuade him to stay, but Hase shook his head and politely declined.

Hours later, Hase's plane took off from the runway and plunged into the night sky, while the Xuefeng also sailed into the open sea. Ozawa ordered the radio operator to contact Tokyo.

"Inform headquarters that our ship will use Route 2 to return to the mainland via the Tsugaru Strait."

In the command center, Ozawa looked at the sea through binoculars and spoke softly, then ordered the radio to be shut down and radio silence to be implemented.

On the pitch-black sea, the Xuefeng and three cargo ships sailed at a steady speed, their contrails stirring up layers of waves.

That evening, the Tokyo headquarters sent a secret telegram to naval observation posts along the Sea of ​​Japan coast, instructing them to closely monitor the movements of the Xuefeng.

The Japanese Army Air Force on the mainland also received an emergency order to prepare to take off at any time to receive the convoy.

Under the watchful eyes of various forces, the transport fleet passed through the Tsushima Strait the following morning and appeared in the waters west of Honshu Island.

Twenty-four hours later, the Chūjū Strait reported that the Xuefeng and three cargo ships had passed safely.

The bigwigs in Tokyo were overjoyed; at the latest, the most important part of the Golden Lily Project would be completed in three days.

Compared to the wealth of Southeast Asia and Nanyang, the Japanese valued the cultural relics and paintings looted from the Republic of China more.

A nation that loses its past loses its foundation and its future.

The purpose of the Golden Lily Project was not only to plunder wealth, but the Japanese also wanted to use it to sever the cultural heritage and spiritual foundation of the Republic of China.

On the evening of the third day, as the transport fleet passed through the waters east of Honshu Island, a Type 100 reconnaissance aircraft swayed its wings and turned away from above the Xuefeng.

On the plane, the observer sitting at the back of the cabin sent a telegram to Tokyo stating that everything was normal with the convoy and there were no signs of US submarine activity in the vicinity.

Watching the plane fly away, Ozawa withdrew his gaze and ordered his men to take turns resting.

When sailing on the ocean, people must ensure they get enough sleep, otherwise they are prone to seasickness or other problems.

As night deepened, the off-duty crew members on the Xuefeng and the three cargo ships slowly drifted off to sleep, the ships gently rocking under the pounding of the waves.

In the corridor outside the cargo hold of the Yamato Maru, the Kwantung Army soldiers on duty were dozing off, their heads drooping from time to time.

After several days of peace and quiet, the soldiers had long since lowered their guard, and even the officer in charge had leaned against the bulkhead and closed his eyes.